Fossil Record 10(2) (2007), 99–124 / DOI 10.1002/mmng.200700002 Early Carboniferous ammonoid faunas and stratigraphy of the Montagne Noire (France) Dieter Korn*,1 and Raimund Feist**,2 1 Museum fu¨ r Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universita¨t zu Berlin, Invalidenstraße 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany 2 Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, Universite´ Montpellier II, F-34095 Montpellier, France Received 20 November 2006, accepted 5 February 2007 Published 1 August 2007 With 20 figures Key words: Ammonoidea, Carboniferous, Montagne Noire, biostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy. Abstract The early Carboniferous (Mississippian) sedimentary succession of the Montagne Noire is subdivided into three major litho- stratigraphic units, in ascending order the Montagne Noire Griotte Group (Devonian to Early Tournaisian), the Tournaisian to Vise´an Saint-Nazaire Group (with the Lydiennes, Fauge`res, Colonnes, and Puech Capel Formations, the latter new), and the Laurens Flysch Group (late Vise´an). The ammonoid assemblages in these rock units are reviewed. A total of 29 Early Carbo- niferous ammonoid taxa at species level are determined. The new genus Nigrocyclus n. gen., and the new species Gattendorfia nazairensis n. sp., Globimitoceras albaillei n. sp., and Neogoniatites canovasi n. sp. are described. Schlu¨ sselwo¨ rter: Ammonoidea, Karbon, Montagne Noire, Biostratigraphie, Lithostratigraphie. Zusammenfassung Die unterkarbonische Abfolge von Sedimentgesteinen in der Montagne Noire wird in drei lithostratigraphische Einheiten un- tergliedert, von unten nach oben die Montagne Noire Griotte Gruppe (Oberdevon bis Untertournai), die Saint-Nazaire Gruppe des Tournaisium und Vise´um (mit den Lydiennes Fauge`res, Colonnes und Puech Capel Formationen, von denen die letzte neu ist), und der Laurens Flysch Gruppe (Obervise´um). Die Ammonoideen-Vergesellschaftungen in diesen Gesteinen werden revidiert. Insgesamt werden 29 unterkarbonische Ammonoideen-Taxa auf Artebene aufgefu¨ hrt; neu beschrieben werden die Gattung Nigrocyclus n. gen. sowie die Arten Gattendorfia nazairensis n. sp., Globimitoceras albaillei n. sp. und Neogoniatites canovasi n. sp. # 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Introduction In the following account, the Carboniferous ammo- noid faunas of the Montagne Noire are revised. The Montagne Noire shows a Carboniferous rock This is possible because the majority of the speci- succession, which constitutes a sedimentary sequence mens collected by Bo¨ hm (1935a) and his contem- that developed from a pelagic platform into a synoro- poraries are available in the collection of the Institut genic flysch basin (Engel et al. 1978, 1982). Biostra- des Sciences de l’Evolution, Universite´ Montpellier tigraphic alignments of some of the lithological II (ISEM). Additional collections were assembled units and exact timing of the change in sedimenta- during the last 30 years by several researchers, and tion, however, remain unclear because of the pau- form a solid basis for such a revision. city of discrete index fossils. The age of the black With the advances in ammonoid stratigraphy in cherts (‘lydiennes’) and the onset of the flysch have other regions such as the South Urals (e.g. Ruz- remained misinterpreted for a long time. hencev & Bogoslovskaya 1971), the Northern Urals * Corresponding author: e-mail: [email protected] ** E-mail: [email protected] # 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 100 Korn, D. & R. Feist: Early Carboniferous ammonoids from the Montagne Noire Fig. 1. The outcrop of Carboniferous rocks in the Montagne Noire and the geographic position of the ammonoid localities. (e.g. Kusina 1980), and North Africa (Korn et al. Dele´pine (1935), who in a brief note described 2007), the assemblages of the Montagne Noire can “Aganides sp.” and “Pericyclus niger sp. nov.” from be interpreted more precisely. Correlation of the phosphoritic nodules within the lydite horizon that ammonoid-bearing horizons with the standard stra- is exposed at numerous places in the vicinity of tigraphic schemes is now possible. Cabrie`res (Fig. 1). Carboniferous ammonoid-bearing rocks are long The monograph by Rodolphe Bo¨ hm (1935a) was known from the Montagne Noire (von Koenen released in the same year; it is the most extensive 1883; Bergeron 1899a, 1899b; Theron 1899), there- description of the Carboniferous ammonoid faunas after it was not until the midthirties that two arti- of the Montagne Noire. Bo¨ hm listed and figured cles, which figured ammonoid specimens were pub- ammonoid specimens from four different Carboni- lished. The first one was provided by Gaston ferous rock complexes (see Fig. 2): Fig. 2. Stratigraphic scheme, genus zones, and Tournaisian and Vise´an rock formations with ammonoid assemblages (indicated by an asterisk) in the Montagne Noire. # 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim museum-fossilrecord.wiley-vch.de Fossil Record 10(2) (2007) 101 ‘Horizon a` lydiennes’ (¼ Lydiennes Formation); Montagne Noire Griotte Group horizon of black cherts with phosphoritic nodules: At five places in the southeastern Montagne Noire, “Aganides ornatissimus de Koninck” ¼ Globimitoceras albaillei n. sp. the Devonian-Carboniferous transitional beds are “Pericyclus Kochi Holzapfel” ¼ Gattendorfia nazairensis n. sp. well exposed with nodular ammonoid-bearing lime- “Pericyclus Hauchecornei Holzapfel” ¼ Gattendorfia nazai- stones below and above the boundary (Fig. 3): rensis n. sp. “Pericyclus fasciculatus Mc Coy” ¼ Goniocyclus sp. Puech de la Suque –– vineyard road cutting 2 km southeast of “Pericyclus sp.” ¼ Goniocyclus gensoni n. sp. St. Nazaire-de-Ladarez village (Krylatov 1964; Boyer “Pericyclus niger Dele´pine” ¼ Nigrocyclus niger (Dele´pine, et al. 1968; Vachard 1977; Michel 1981; Brauckmann et al. 1935) 1993; Korn 1993; Girard 1994). “Nomismoceras Frechi Schmidt” ¼ Eocanites sp. Puech Capel –– slope in an old vineyard 2.1 km south-south- “Nomismoceras sp.” = Eocanites sp. east of St. Nazaire-de-Ladarez village. “Prolecanites (Protocanites)sp.”¼ Eocanites sp. Col de Tribes –– eastern slope of Mont Peyroux. Pic de Vissous –– some trenches 2.3 km north-northwest of ‘Calcaire de Fauge`res’ (¼ Fauge`res Formation); pink Cabrie`res. and greenish nodular limestones: La Serre –– 2.3 km south of Cabrie`res; trench E’ is the strato- type of the Devonian-Carboniferous Boundary (Flajs & “Pericyclus Kochi Holzapfel” ¼ Ammonellipsites kochi (Holz- Feist 1988; Paproth et al. 1991; Brauckmann et al. 1993; apfel, 1889), A. hauchecornei (Holzapfel, 1889) Girard 1994; Feist et al. 2000). At this locality, the Devo- “Pericyclus Hauchecornei Holzapfel” ¼ Ammonellipsites hau- nian-Carboniferous transitional beds are shallow-water checornei (Holzapfel, 1889) deposits with crinoidal grainstones and oolites. “Pericyclus virgatus de Koninck” ¼ Ammonellipsites hauche- cornei (Holzapfel, 1889) In the first four of these sections, the Carbonifer- “Pericyclus sp.” = Ammonellipsites sp. ous part of the Griotte (upper part of the ‘Calcaire “Prolecanites (Merocanites) applanatus Frech” ¼ Merocanites Supra-Griottes’; Lethiers & Feist 1990) has a thick- applanatus (Frech, 1899) “Nomismoceras (?) sp.” ¼ Merocanites applanatus (Frech, ness of approximately 3 metres. It overlies a shaly 1899) layer of 0.30 to 0.60 m in thickness (most probably “Beyrichoceras cf. micronotum Phillips” ¼ Dzhaprakoceras sp. an equivalent of the Hangenberg Black Shale in “Beyrichoceras cf. implicatum Phillips” ¼ Winchelloceras sp. the Rhenish Slate Mountains). It is composed of “Glyphioceras cf. Barroisi Holzapfel” ¼ Dzhaprakoceras?sp. light to dark grey and often yellowish weathered “Goniatites Haan nov. sp.” ¼ Dzhaprakoceras sp. “Goniatites sp.” ¼ goniatite indet. nodular limestones with thin shaly intercalations. The shaly content increases towards the top of this ‘Schistes du Landeyran’ (¼ upper portion of the unit and finally, the limestone nodules become dis- Puech Capel Formation); greenish shales with crushed sociated and isolated within the increasing clay- ammonoid specimens: stone matrix and subsequently disappear. At Puech de la Suque, where the conodont suc- “Goniatites subcircularis Miller” ¼ Neoglyphioceras sp. cession is well established (Boyer et al. 1968; Girard “Sagittoceras sp.” ¼ Ferganoceras sp. 1994; Kaiser 2005), the lowest occurrence of Sipho- nodella sulcata (Huddle) was discovered a few cen- ‘Calcaire a Productus giganteus’: timetres above the base of the limestone unit, indi- “Goniatites Haan” ¼ Goniatites sp. cating that the Devonian-Carboniferous Boundary probably lies within the limestone sequence. The The annotated list demonstrates that Bo¨ hm’s mono- succession of conodonts shows that all five cono- graph required revision. Particularly the goniatites dont zones, which are present in the Hangenberg from the phosphoritic nodules were completely Limestone of the Rhenish Mountains (Upper prae- misinterpreted by Bo¨ hm, leading him to the wrong sulcata Zone, sulcata Zone, Lower and Upper dupli- conclusion that they have an early Vise´an age. A cata Zone, sandbergi Zone), are represented in this complete revision of all this material is presented section (Girard 1994; Klapper (pers. communica- herein. tion); Kaiser 2005). Although the limestones of the upper part of the Supra-Griotte are considerably rich in macrofossils, only a few sufficiently well pre- served faunas have been assembled. This is due to the fact that the brittle limestone allows only rarely Lithostratigraphic succession an extraction of determinable fossils. From the